One of the major reasons that I got this was to use to listen to music while running outside. I gave up after an hour and a few different headphones. That would have knocked it down to 3 stars, but its better than expected on tracking distance on a treadmill, so I gave it four in the end.

The Fenix 5 Plus is Garmin's attempt to create the ultimate fitness tracker. Featuring support for advanced Galileo location tech, more health tracking sensors than you can shake a stick at, local music playback and one of the toughest designs around, the Fenix 5 is an excellent device.

Super-rugged design; Excellent location and distance tracking; More sports options than you'll ever need; Topo map support

Doesn't support popular music streaming services; Very expensive

Alex Roddie reviews a smart watch with a comprehensive feature set and the option for topo maps

highly customisable interface; excellent GPS accuracy; comfortable to wear; no touchscreen

expensive; heart rate only accurate for white-skinned users; battery life poor when mapping used; built-in mapping inappopriate for the hills

When it comes to multisport watches, the refreshed Fenix is about as capable as they come, with new features like built-in music and contactless payments along with fully routable color topo maps.

Hard wearing; Stylish; rugged design; Huge range of multi-sport features

High price; Reduced battery life

Very Good!

The Garmin Fenix 5 Plus is a classic example of a buy your heart and head may react to in different ways. Heart says: it’s clearly brilliant. I can use it for just about every kind of sport or exercise, bar moon walks. It’s a great normal watch and has all the basics smarts I need too. Head says: Christ, are you mad? £599 even without the Sapphire screen you need to avoid scratches? And an extra £150 just for the maps you’ll need for a proper hiking weekend? I’m going to cut up the credit card before you get to the checkout. Most of you will wish it was less expensive. Plenty should probably listen to their head rather than heart and buy a lower-end watch. However, its combo of accessible design, Spotify support and real mapping skills is brilliant.

Fairly non-intimidating design; Garmin Connect is great for serious workout tracking; A fab array of features inc; Spotify support;

Very expensive; Proper hike-ready maps are expensive; Garmin Pay support is limited at present;

If you're looking for an all-action sports watch that tracks everything you could possibly need, does so reliably and consistently, and lasts an age, then there's nothing better than the Fenix 5 Plus. Shame it's so very expensive.

Great build quality and durability; GPS locks location quickly; Accurate heart rate sensor; Music makes carrying a phone unnecessary; 10 day battery life; 100m water proofing;

Sleep tracking is inconsistent; Battery life not quite as good as previous Fenix 5 or Forerunner 935; Loading music is cumbersome; It's undeniably expensive;

Fairly non-intimidating design; Garmin Connect is great for serious workout tracking; A fab array of features inc. Spotify support;

Very expensive; Proper hike-ready maps are expensive; Garmin Pay support is limited at present;